A damping mechanism for a mirror of a motor vehicle, wherein a mirror support, having a mirror plate thereon, is movable about two mutually perpendicular axes relative to a mounting plate fixedly present in the housing of the mirror plate, between the mirror support and the mounting plate at least two damping elements being arranged, each of said damping elements being made up of a slot present on the mirror support, or on the mounting plate, and a hinging supporting element present on the mounting plate or the mirror support, respectively, whose end is movable in a respective slot.
In such mirrors of motor vehicles, it is of great importance that the mirror plates, when not being adjusted, continue to take up a fixed position in the housing; vibrations to which the mirror plate will be subject owing to its adjustability about the axes mentioned must be counteracted as much as possible. Further, acoustic vibrations during adjustment of the mirror plate should be suppressed as much as possible.
A damping mechanism as described in the opening paragraph is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,873. The hinging support element therein is formed by a spring wire damping element with one extending end anchoring the damping element by being received in a passage on the mirror support and the other extending end providing a runner-like portion to engage and slide with respect to a specific surface of an extension on the mounting plate.
The object of the invention is to improve and to simplify the known damping elements and to provide an entirely different type of damping mechanism.
To realize this object, according to the invention, the damping mechanism such as it is described in the preamble is characterized in that the supporting element, at the free end, can then be provided with a spherical projection which, upon movement of the mirror support relative to the mounting plate, moves through the slot in question. It is noted here that it is known from DE-A-19804360 to use a single similar construction of slot and supporting element between the mirror support and the mounting plate. This construction then serves as a lock against rotation.
To ensure that, upon a movement of the mirror support about one or both axes relative to the mounting plate, a sufficient damping is obtained at all times, at least two of the damping elements are arranged at a distance from the pivoting point of the mirror support relative to the mounting plate, the lines through the pivot points and each of the damping element centres including an angle of about 60xc2x0 and 120xc2x0, preferably an angle of 90xc2x0.
In an electrically controlled mirror, the mirror plate is adjusted about the axes by two motor-driven spindles mounted on the mounting plate. Although, when in that case two damping elements are present, these can be arranged between the respective engagement points of the spindles on the mirror support and the pivoting point, it is preferred, for constructional reasons, to arrange the damping elements diametrically relative to the respective engagement points of the spindles on the mirror support, between the mirror support and the mounting plate. When four damping elements are present, two of them may be arranged, in the manner specified here, diametrically relative to the respective engagement points, and two others between these engagement points and the pivoting point.
In a simple and inexpensive embodiment, the supporting element is formed by a sheetlike element with a foldable edge which forms the hinge by which the supporting element is mounted on the mounting plate, or on the mirror support, for hinging motion, parallel to a respective axis.
The invention relates not only to a damping mechanism for a mirror of a motor vehicle, but also to this mirror itself, in other words, to a mirror for a vehicle, comprising a mirror support, having a mirror plate thereon, which is movable about two mutually perpendicular axes relative to a mounting plate fixedly present in the housing of the mirror plate, and which mirror includes, in accordance with the invention, the above-described damping elements.